Teradek has announced a new compact wireless video system. The Teradek Bolt 500 keeps the small form factor of the Bolt 300, but with an increased range of an impressive 500-foot distance, as well as offering HDMI/SDI conversion.
Teradek has become one of the industry standards for wireless video transmission systems. They offer robust solutions for when you are you looking to transmit your video signal to a wirelessl, whether for providing a separate monitor for client viewing, director viewing and/or your camera is situated where running a cable isn’t practical, such as when sat on a gimbal, high out of reach or across a long distance.
The Bolt 500 is, however, still placed in Teradek’s short range category, a product that will favour users looking to keep their wireless systems small. The Bolt 500 is similar in size to its smaller 300-foot range brother, but step up to the Bolt 1000 and above and you’ll have to deal with a larger physical system when taking antennas into consideration.
Like the Bolt 300, the Bolt 500 has internal antennas, keeping its footprint low (dimensions below). The Bolt 500 is also Teradek’s lightest in this line for both TX and RX, and like all other Bolt models, it features up to 1080 60p support, and has a capability of up to 4 receivers.
Other new additions include Teradek’s Rapid Reconnect and a HDMI/SDI cross converter.
Specification list for the Teradek Bolt 500
Range: 500 foot
Rapid Reconnect: Yes
Number of 20MHz DFS Chs: 0
Number of 40MHz DFS Chs: 40
Input/Output: 3G-SDI & HDMI
Resolution/Framerate: up to 1080/60p
TX HDMI/SDI Convertor: Yes
Latency: <0.001 Seconds
Multicast: Up to 4 RX
Metadata Support: Yes
USB 3.0 Grab Engine: Yes
Power: 2 pin Lemo 2-28 VDC
Size: (TX) 24X66X102mm (RX) 25X89X146mm
Weight TX/RX: 217g/299g
I can see the Teradek Bolt 500 being suitable for many applications due to its small form factor and HDMI/SDI cross compatibility, and I’m sure it will prove to be a popular product with hire companies.
A single system featuring both HDMI and SDI will retail for $3990.00

SmallHD firmware update 2.2 is available for all 500 and 700 series monitors. The update includes a fully customizable vectorscope, on-screen battery display, dual zebras and most significantly pre-loaded Rec 709 LUTs for a host of log camera profiles.
As a user of the SmallHD 502, I am really looking forward to the use of a pre-loaded log to Rec 709 LUTs. Support will include Sony S-log, Canon C-log, Arri Log C, and GoPro Protune—to name just a few.
Of course, not all cameras support LUTs in-camera and those that do sometimes have a funny way of grouping certain outputs in regards to menu overlays and the internal recording (ahem… FS7… ahem). Therefore, it is good to have options at your disposal when recording one profile, sending another to your client, and viewing another yourself.
Vectorscope is a welcome addition also, like all exposure aids it will be fully customizable in size, location, and opacity.
Full list of features for SmallHD firmware update 2.2 for 500/700 series monitors:
1. Full Support for 700 Lite Series Monitors Added
2. A library of Reverse LOG LUTs has been added to the monitor. These are accessible using the LOOK Tool on any page
3. Default Calibration LUTs have been added to the 702, 702 Lite and 701 Lite
4. On-screen “Status Display” may now be enabled in the settings menu
This feature displays:
– Input Type
– Input Format
– Time
– Battery Status- Voltage and Percent remaining for compatible LP-E6 Canon Batteries
5. LUTs now have an “intensity” slider
– When modified on the Output Page the intensity of the LUT is altered downstream as well
6. Vectorscope has been added
– Vectorscope displays data modified by LUTs loaded on pages
7. Settings menu option to automatically perform an image-capture when SDI Record signal occurs
8. Low Battery indicator now appears on top of video when a chipped Canon battery reports <15% remaining
9. Backdrop at boot time, background in collage, and background on individual pages changed from black to dark gray
Improvements and Bug fixes:
1. Improvements to the “Calibration” settings page.
– “Brightness, Contrast” renamed to “Black Point, White Point”
2. “No Signal” text now includes source signal -> “No HDMI Signal” | “No SDI Signal”
3. Up to 2 zebra tools may be enabled simultaneously
4. Waveform Improvements:
– User-selectable intensity
– User-selectable Color when in “LUMA” mode
5. Improved LUT support:
– LUTs with negative values should now load
– LUTs with values that range from 0.0-1.0, but also include illegal values above 1.0 should also now load
6. Fixed a bug that kept some joysticks from working when upside down
SmallHD firmware update 2.2 can be downloaded here, where you’ll also find instructions on installation.